HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS VOTE IN EAST TIMOR’S FIRST ELECTION

Hundreds of thousands of East Timorese headed to the polls today to vote in the country’s first democratic elections. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful throughout the country, with no incidents of insecurity reported nationwide.

“30 August 2001 will be remembered in the history of East Timor as a demonstration of the capacity of the East Timorese people to organize themselves, to participate, and to confront their differences in the context of a multiparty democracy,” Carlos Valenzuela, Chief Electoral Officer of the Independent Electoral Commission, said tonight after voting at all but a handful of polling stations had ended.

Valenzuela said an estimated 93 percent of those on the voters roll had voted. “We believe the people of East Timor can go to sleep satisfied; they have done their civic duty, and tomorrow we will start the counting process,” Valenzuela said.

Thousands of voters lined up in the dark this morning waiting for polling stations to open, others had slept outside polling stations, or had traversed long and difficult terrain to reach them.

Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta cast his vote in the capital early this morning and then accompanied SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello to Bobonaro, Covalima and Ainaro districts to visit polling stations. Xanana Gusmão voted in Manatuto district and then traveled with Deputy SRSG Dennis McNamara to Viqueque and Baucau districts.

This afternoon the SRSG visited a polling center in the capital at which he commended the East Timorese for the dignity and maturity they have exhibited throughout the electoral process. A radio broadcast in which the SRSG encouraged voters to head to the polls was aired throughout the day.

After the close of polling, all ballot boxes were taken unopened from the polling centres to counting centres in each district capital, where they will be stored securely overnight. The process of counting the ballots will begin tomorrow, and final certified results will be handed by the IEC Board of Commissioners to the SRSG on 10 September.

Today’s election will result in an 88-member Constituent Assembly that will have 90 days to write and adopt a Constitution for an independent and democratic East Timor.

Please see attached transcript of the SRSG’s radio broadcast to the East Timorese population.

Radio Message to the East Timorese

by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello
Dili, 30 August 2001

Today you will be going to polling centers throughout East Timor to vote in your country's first democratic elections. This will be YOUR day to stand up and be counted and for YOUR voices to be heard.

Along with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, I encourage you to vote in great numbers. With your continued enthusiasm, participation and commitment, this day, 30 August 2001, will be a marvelous and memorable day.

When the results of today's election are announced, some people will feel happy because they believe that they may have won, while others may feel disappointed because they did not manage as well. This is normal in any democratic election. But remember…it is the people of East Timor, and not political parties, that will be the winners of today's elections. Your votes will elect people who will write a Constitution that will unite the nation and protect all groups in society, no matter how small. You have shown great political maturity throughout the electoral campaign demanding that the political parties abide by the Pact of National Unity, and I count on you to show the same maturity when the results of the elections are announced.

This is your political process, and today is your day. Embrace and protect what you have waited for so long to achieve. The power to do so is finally in your hands.